The Intergalactic Highway

After dragging Sonar back to the Darksyde, Starshadow left him outside the storage room for awhile to get soap and then dragged him to the decontamination chamber. "Now don't squirm or struggle or I'll choke you with floor detergent." she tightened the the whip around him and turned on the faucet. Because of her carelessness, the cold water of the shower sprayed on her body. "Slag..."

Growling, she adjusted the shower head to Sonar and started scrubbing his fur. "Don't you just love a nice cold bath, Batsy?" she smiled and massaged his shoulders then his temples, "Heh..It's like mommy bathing her own son after he played games outside the house." she opened the bottle of soap and poured it on his head and back and continued scrubbing.

(ooc: Yay for electricity! I feel the pain of those that lost power though.. a lot of people around here lost power for a week or more during the October storm back in 2006. It was a local event, but with up to 41 inches snow in some place and 400,000 people losing power it was quite the experience while it lasted.. And it occurred on Friday 13th of all days!

Also sorry for short post. I'm sick and have been for a couple of days now. Got no energy. So my apologies if I miss anything.)

Rattrap's comment involving Optimus lecturing a banana got Aurora to burst out laughing.

Oh man..

It was surprisingly easy to envision their commander doing it as well, although the little ermine understood all too well why the primate felt the need to keep the others safe, which she assumed was the reason he'd gotten rather infamous for his lectures.

She was about to respond when she noticed Primal looking in their direction, so she decided to hold her tongue for the time being. But it didn't take long before the others assured her she could come with the search party, at which point her face really lit up in a youthful, surprised glee.

"Really? I mean certainly!," she exclaimed excitedly. She glanced over her shoulder, sending Optimus a reassuring look. "Don't worry, I'll keep them out of trouble!," she called out for him, smiling in her beast form.

"So we're sticking together on this, or are we spreading out to cover a bigger area?," she then asked upon turning towards the others again.

"Bravo! Bravo! You're going to get yourself killed one day! You could take on another job, a bomb carrier!"

I'll die happy knowing that I can take a few bots with me. Predacon, Maximal doesn't matter to me. Sonar thought with a smirk.

"You should be helping your boyfriend!"

"When did you get here?"

"Just now..NOW GO!"

Sonar rolled his optics as he went to get to his feet.

"You look like you could use some help. Bath time!"

The bat let out a startled yelp as Starshadow used her whip to tie him up.

I'm going to kill her one of these days. He thought with another growl as he was dragged into the busted Predacon War ship.

* * *

Using the coordinates that Megatron gave him, Inferno knew he was getting close to his objective. He started to tunnel toward the surface as he neared the surface, he suddenly brusted through the surface and found himself inside a mountain and in the center of the mountain was a small spinning island that held a golden disc imbedded in a stone pillar.

His large eyes widen slightly when he saw it. "By the Great Smelter!" He exclaimed walking toward the pool. He soon transformed into his robot form and actived his large thrusters moving toward the small, spinning island. "This must be what the Royalty wanted me to retrieve."

He landed on the small island and grasped the disc and started pulling but it was wedged in the rock rather well, he suddenly lossed his grip and landed on his back. His body was soon being racked with Energon build up.

"Warning. Energon level in danger zone." His computer warned.

He forced himself to his feet and grasped the disc once again.

"I...will... not... FAIL!" He growled determinedly.

With one final tug, he pulled the disc out of the pillar and let out a yell as he shot toward the opening in the mountain, disc in hand, he activated his COM link once he was far enough away from the mountain..

"Inferno to the Royalty! I have the item you wanted me to retrieve!"

((OOC: Sorry I haven't been on, been kinda busy making sure my nephew doesn't burn the house down))

Megatron left to the inside of the Predacon ship, still deep in thought over the situation with the aliens, the anomaly, and with what to do about the Maximals although they were of a less greater importance for the time being. This strange signal was more important for the Predacon tyrant's attention then his foes. But Megatron snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the com-link from Inferno, grinning with triumph and that the Maximals had failed to catch this already,"Excellent Inferno, now hurry back."He said with obvious glee. Whatever this item was there was sure to be of some great value to it, perhaps even a use to turn the tides of this war and aid in his conquest to reap this dirt ball of it's energon, rid of the Maximals, and return to Cybertron where his destiny of ruling it awaited.

Yet at the same time he had to be very careful and calculating his next moves carefully, make sure whatever would come next in his plans weren't noticed right away. Oh no Megatron knew better then to let his enemy be aware of his actions and he had to take his plans a step at a time until they could finally claim victory.

=======================

Outside the ship Onyx was quietly watching those that had remained outside, cocking his long slender head as he watched Venetrix and Steelclaw speaking yet didn't make any move to interrupt them. Finally turning his gaze away the black stallion began to walk away from the ship though only going out far enough so he could take a look around the environment of the ship, besides the lava pits that were scattered about it. It wasn't a fitting place for many of their beast forms yet at the same time seemed to be ideal for what the predacons here were trying to accomplish but personally Onyx thought this was the worst way to go for it would only cause more of a rift between the sides instead of fixing the problem. Frowning inwardly the stallion let out a deep sigh, wondering if trying to escape his primary function to be a bot for war was ever going to be an option.

Transforming to his robot mode Onyx carefully touched the scars on his face that ran diagonally and thought back to his illegal circuit fights. Those had been days when he thought he was really helping pursue a goal to help the Predacons gain their equal rights but he had learned over the years the use of force should be judged carefully otherwise you risked your own life. Letting his hand drop back at his side the ebony and dark gray colored mech began to head off on his own again and transformed to his horse form before he cantered off to go on a real patrol and pass the time.

Only time would tell what was to come next. Yet today it seemed far too peaceful and it almost felt like a calm before the storm, an apprehensive feeling crawling over your spark like you knew something was going to happen and Onyx had that motion something was going to go down, something big.

Feralnight chuckled at Airazor's dry humor,"I have no doubt I'll be sitting out of this game for a while Airazor, by now I'm sure Optimus is more then annoyed with my taking off." She replied over her com-link before changing course a bit to meet up with the falcon. But she wondered how long she really had been gone or how long the cyber venom had knocked her out, it didn't feel that long but it could very well have been. Probably not that long at all since her fur and feathers had been wet when she had come around and of course the slime had still been fresh so she was guessing it'd be dry by the time she got back. This would make for an uncomfortable journey back to base and one she had to endure.

After a short time however Feralnight soon spotted Airazor and picked up some speed to meet her,"Think the only Pred out here is Glowstick."She called before she got closer and slowed down a bit though looked at the slime with disgust."Looks like I will be cleaning slime out of my fur and feathers for a month."She muttered though knew it wouldn't be that long.

-------------------------

Inside the Axalon Frilla was still working on the schematics of a possible new shield but she only kept messing with the design and colors, her mind distracted on the information she had on the aliens. It was driving her nuts not to have found something! With a deep sigh the frilled lizard leaned back slightly in the chair, tilting her head in thought and going over in her head to what may be going on with these alien occurrences, trying to find some pattern in the events since they had been there yet so far she saw none which was the frustrating part. How do you fight an enemy when you didn't know slag about them? "Best chance I'd have of finding anything would have to result in trying to sneak into the Pred base."She muttered to herself but inwardly recoiled at the thought.

She was already on Megatron's traitor to take care of list, the last thing she wanted to do was give the tyrannosaurus that chance to finish her when she came willing in on her own. Not to mention Optimus would never approve of it when there was enough going on without risking someone else's life.

(( OOC: Those are the kind of snow storms I miss, Phoenix. Not the power outages, obviously, but that much snow is soooo awesome. I hope you feel better soon.

No worries, N-H. ))

"Don't worry, I'll keep them out of trouble!,"

Optimus chuckled lightly at Aurora's joyful expression before he stopped and turned around when he heard Whitegrazer call for him.

"Wait, Optimus." "About that thing I was about to discuss with you? I wished I had more time to gather but I guess I have to settle with short." "During our meditation before we find Arachnitron and even after that, I had some flashes...visions really. They were unclear, but I could make out voices and...an explosion. I heard Megatron's and yours. The third I couldn't make out." "I just fear that something devastating is going to happen. I don't know how or why, but I do know this: you are in the middle of it. Whatever is going to happen, whatever the aliens are planning and Megatron...I just wanted to warn you that you may be caught in a..." "...a storm. Now, I really can't say more because well, I don't know more even if I told, it will just seem ludicrous. " "Because you are our leader, you are a prime target for the aliens and Megatron. Two enemies that want to destroy us, but it's you, everything seems to be targeting you." "A storm's coming, Optimus." "Watch yourself, the aliens, and Megatron, especially Megatron. Because when a tyrant's laughter rings upon the sky raining with fire, it's never a good sign." "Be careful, Optimus. That's all I have to say. I just feel guilty that I can't see what happens. Forgive me."

In the beginning, Primal smiled at her, grateful to have one more discussion with her before she would take off with the others. However, with her voice carrying such seriousness and concern, his expression was washed over with a slight uneasiness and worry. He was not expecting her to say something like that. Whitegrazer had visions of this? As if it had already happened? How... His mind filtered tons of questions, none of which he had the time right now to ask since tracking down Feralnight was much more important right now. And finding out more about that alien anomaly Orcariner had mentioned just moments ago. Something devastating? What exactly was supposed to happen? It couldn't be worse than that slagging clone the Vok kept sending, and the one they made of Orcariner. And to learn that Optimus was supposed to be in the middle of this? How was he supposed to respond to that? As much as the unknown frightened him, it also was no surprise to him, - he had been a primary target since day one - so he remained as calm as possible while she told him of this "news." After all, maybe her vision was inaccurate. There was no sense in dwelling on something that might not even happen, so he would try focusing on the present. In the back of his mind, however, her words would loiter so that they may spring warnings on him in case this "event" were to actually take place. Curiously, as the mare's gaze glanced up at the second moon, Primal's followed and studied the large object that orbited the planet with its twin until his optics fell onto her's at the same time her's were drawn to his. It was true that data Rhinox had acquired about that moon was substantially different from the other moon, as if something wasn't quite adding up. But there was no way to inspect it with greater detail since they had no means of getting off of this world let alone flying up and landing on one of its moons.

Just as Whitegrazer had turned away from him and took a step, Optimus reached for her hand with his scarred hand, grabbing her's and gently tugging it back to motion her to stop and turn back around to face him. Softly, he asked her while maintaining his hold on her hand and looking into her eyes, "Have you ever had that feeling, despite everything else that may have happened in life, that you are right where and when you're supposed to be?" It was a rhetorical question, letting her know that he was willing to accept whatever laid ahead of him; accepting his responsibilities and duties as a leader for them. How could he not? He may not have any control over anything that might be meant to be. Even though her voice was expressing a grave situation, the Maximal Commander was far more concerned for his crews' lives than his own. Whatever was supposed to happen, if it meant risking his life to save his Maximals, he would do it. It was no different than the first day they had landed on this planet and every day after that. Optimus held a brave face, but perhaps a tiny bit of alarm or panic could be found behind his dark red eyes. After all, everyone always feared what they didn't understand, and that was anything that involved the Vok, as Whitegrazer had mentioned. As for Megatron, thanks to her revelation, he could keep a keener eye on him for any suspisious or unusual activities. "We'll cross those bridges when we get to them," Primal assured her, adding a tender squeeze to her hand that he had been holding in his. But was he trying to convince her that everything would be fine, or was he trying to convince himself? For the rest of the Maximals' sakes, he had to be as valiant as he could to keep everyone together if anything drastic was to occur. A fearful and scattered leader was sure to make desperate matters even worse among an already frightened crew. "Hurry off and find Feralnight," he encouraged her, hoping to leave the information she just shared with him and not have her worry too much about it.

"Really? I mean certainly!,"

Snickering at Aurora, Rattrap looked over back to Whitegrazer and Optimus, who were engaged again in a conversation too far to really hear what the white horse was saying, leaning over and telling the ermine/butterfly Fuzor, "You know, I kinda thought I saw somethin' brewin' between those two," he grinned slyly, watching their body language.

"Don't worry, I'll keep them out of trouble!,"

"Hah! I think dat's the other way around, missy," said the rat as he followed beside her, walking up toward Cheetor.

"So we're sticking together on this, or are we spreading out to cover a bigger area?,"

"We could split into two groups," Rattrap suggested with a shrug. "Me with Spots and you with 'Grazer."

-----

Approaching the glowing mountain stealthfully, prowling along the forest floor, Tigatron stopped when he heard something faint. It sounded like it had come from inside the giant cone-shaped rock. Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion, like a gun shot, with rock and snow caving in, so he immediately crouched to the ground with his ears back and his eyes wide. Looking upward, low and behold, he had spotted Inferno racing out of the mountain with something in his hands. By the Matrix, he thought. There was no way Tigatron would have the time to chase the frantic flyer, or even transform in time to shoot him down, so he looked back at the mountain that simply wasn't illuminated anymore. Whatever Inferno had taken must have been the source of the glowing and was very likely alien. He had better report this to the rest of the Maximals. Thinking it wise to not waste time investigating whatever might be left in the mountain, and possibly putting himself in danger if he did, the white tiger turned around and began running back toward the Axalon, to find somewhere he'd be able to establish radio contact as soon as possible. This could be a significant discovery that only the Predacons would have the advantage of knowing. Not good.

Orcariner followed Optimus towards the ship until the latter was drawn once again toward Whitegrazer. The giant silently stepped aside and allowed them to finish their conversation. The nature of the conversation immediately seemed serious so Orcariner voluntarily spaced out. It was not polite to eavesdrop and he had already received the training to be noninvasive by the Academy, especially in the presence of a commanding officer. Still, he could help but allow the words "raining fire" to reach his audio receptors. It sounded purely hypothetical, but regardless it was not a phrase one would use lightly.

Icebreaker lowered his gun attaching it to his hip as he watched Manterror run off into the woods. He wasn't too worried about Manterror coming back, as the guy was his own worse enemy it seemed sometimes.

Glancing towards the Trebuchet, he cocked an optic ridge holding his hand to his chin. He wondered how a bot with swords and sawblades for hands was capable of building.. anything, he then thought to himself if the Maximals could use such a device.


He raised his hand up activating his com link Optimus, this is Icebreaker.We found Arachnitron knocking the oil out of Manterror.. Seems Manterror was building some sort of Catapult, probably planned to sling boulders at the Axalon.

______________________

Rhinox simply smiled towards Valkyrie No thanks is necessary, that's what friends do. Hmm.. with the abundance of Energon on this planet.. I don't think I would call it precious.. But I understand your concerns. For now, you should just try to rest your mind. Why not try relaxing while I run a diagnostic? he then presented his hand towards the lab bed.

____________________

Glowstick watched as Feralnight flew off into the distance, one of his tentacles raised up from the steam bottom poking out of the water. He was now able to pick up radio signals. The squid went onto the frequency programmed into Feralnight, his eyes them to express a rather happy look, He appeared to be getting video out of her optics, and the audio was clear enough that he could even hear her radio conversations.

This was indeed a splendid development. Spying on the Maximals couldn't be easier.. well, as long as the base didn't have it's shields up. Glowstick activated his comlink Megatron, this is Glowstick. The Bird dog is in flight, she doesn't seem to have noticed at all. I'll send you the frequency to access your new tv channel.From Scanning her memories.. the Maximals have Nemesis, and located a possible new Predacon.. after some adjustments.. she seems..unhinged. after his voice message, he then sent a text message with the frequency.

((OOC: Darn you. Optimus. You know exactly what to say. That's what we love you, gorillabot. ))

Just as Whitegrazer had turned away from him and took a step, Optimus reached for her hand with his scarred hand, grabbing her's and gently tugging it back to motion her to stop and turn back around to face him. Softly, he asked her while maintaining his hold on her hand and looking into her eyes, "Have you ever had that feeling, despite everything else that may have happened in life, that you are right where and when you're supposed to be?"

She was taken alittle by surprise by Optimus' hand and looked at his optics. Uncertainty came into her eyes again but it dissipated when Optimus spoke, replacing with a soft sigh and a smile knowing those words very well. That question...How could she have forgotten about that? It was the same thing she said to her master years ago. I'm such a moron.

No, you are not, Whitegrazer. Every time, you get a vision like this, it always gets you on edge and on a sorrow trip because we are all feeling it too, especially the voices every now and then. We all know when we get new person around here: joy and sorrow. I'm surprised you haven't be driven insane by such overwhelming emotions from us. And this...all from a accident. Tsk. Tsk.

Yeah... There was a calm feeling rising within her again. Thank you.

"We'll cross those bridges when we get to them,

She felt the tender squeeze her gave her hand and she nodded, saying softly, "One step at a time."

"Hurry off and find Feralnight,"

She laughed, bringing back the light tone along with encouragement, "We are slow moving, aren't we? Will do, Optimus!" She said with a smirk and was about to go but realized she was about to drag Optimus with her. Oops. That made her laugh even more, bringing an image of hilarity, "I think my hand is stuck. Kidding." She let go of Optimus' hand, still chuckling.

It was amusing how tone changed so fast but she took one last look at Optimus, "And, Optimus? I always had that feeling." She smiled warmly before passing through Rattrap and Aurora.

"You know, I kinda thought I saw somethin' brewin' between those two,"

She gave an innocent, oblivious look. Not saying a word.

"Me with Spots and you with 'Grazer."

She transformed into her beast mode and looked at Aurora, "Want a ride?"

((OOC: Now I got an image of Whitegrazer just dragging Optimus with her without knowing it. I have a silly brain.))

((LOL N-H!! Just to let you know Stars bathing Sonny boy now. I think you missed that part. ))

((OOC: Whoops))

"Excellent Inferno, now hurry back."

"It will be done, Royalty!" Inferno replied.

The Ant knew he had hurry and return the Darksyde before he was forced into stasis lock, due to the energon build up.

* * *

Sonar tried to crawl away when Starshadow left him alone, sadly he didn't get far as she had come back.

"Now don't squirm or struggle or I'll choke you with floor detergent."

The bat shrugged. If it gets me away from you, it would make being choked by floor detergent a gentle way to go. He thought.

His optics widen at the spray of the cold water on him.

HOLY PRIMUS THAT IS COLD!!!! He yelled in his mind.

"Don't you just love a nice cold bath, Batsy?"

He growled in reply thinking. Yeah, yeah. Keep smiling femme, while you can...

"Heh..It's like mommy bathing her own son after he played games outside the house."

Manages to get the whip out of his mouth. "Only one problem, instead of being covered in mud, my claws would be dripping with mech blood from torturing small animals."

The Mantis blocked most of Arachnitron's blows, but it didn't matter. She hoped he would pull out the circular saw blades again! That was quite fun!

Suddenly she noticed the Mantis' attention shifted to the bushes behind them. She turned and noticed the penguin and white tigress coming up behind them. She groaned audibly.

Little close to our base, don't you think Manterror?

She turned her attention back to the mantis in front of her. Her fist was still balled up ready to let another punch fly.

"I.. uhh.....If anyone lays a finger on my trebuchet i'll scalp you all!"

Manterror skittered off into the woods.

"Get back here, you coward!!! We're not finished!!!" Arachnitron shouted after him chucking a few big rocks in his direction. She wasn't half as scrapped as she hoped to be when the Maximals showed up to "rescue" her. She turned swiftly to the Maximals by the bushes. "What the slag did you do that for?" she snapped and threw some rocks in their direction too.

Wintersong wrote:"Sorry to intrude on your party Arachnitron but we were getting a little worried."

The spider narrowed her red optics in anger. "I'm no child! I can take care of myself!" She shouted at them. (OOC: I haven't really given it too much thought, but age-wise, she's probably like early twenties....I'm never really sure how old Cheetor was meant to be in the show in human years, but I'd say she's maybe a bit older if not the same age).

The tiger female had turned back to the penguin to investigate the trebuchet, but Arachnitron was still fuming. She kicked a nearby rock, not to anyone in particular, and sent a few punches into a nearby tree. She leaned against the tree and took a few deep breaths, but she (surprisingly enough) didn't send any punches flying towards the Maximals. She really didn't understand who she was angry with and it was causing a lot of frustration and confusion for the spider.

Arachnitron's anger had more to do than just the interrupted fight and the missing weapons. It came from something that was much, much deeper. Perhaps that is why she was not retaliating against the Maximals just yet. Parts of both programmings were showing. She felt hurt and betrayed...she was also afraid....all things the Maximal was trying to cope with and the Predacon tried to ignore. She also felt angry and bitter....she was feeling hatred as well....all things the Predacon embraced, but the Maximal tried to push away. She suddenly didn't know which programming was in control. Feeling helpless, she slid down to the base of tree and sat there hugging her legs to her chest and hiding her head for a moment.

She overheard Icebreaker radio to Optimus.

"Optimus, this is Icebreaker.We found Arachnitron knocking the oil out of Manterror. Seems Manterror was building some sort of Catapult, probably planned to sling boulders at the Axalon.

She looked up at the penguin and tiger. Her face wore a grave, pained expression, but the pain she felt didn't have anything to do with the damage to her leg that was still leaking mech fluid. This brief moment was the first time this personality had ever showed any kind of emotion besides anger.

"Not boulders, blizzard-beak," she responded, the bitterness had not completely left her voice though she was significantly less hostile. "I was to be the fodder, but I was hoping he'd scrap me more before I let him do it. I don't know why you felt the need to barge in. The scrap heap is where we belong and don't pretend you don't agree." She said referring to her alters and herself as "we."

Wintersong looked away from the catapult and looked towards Icebreaker as he commed Optimus though her attention went to Arachnitron as the spider vented her anger, the tigeress' ears going back as a few of the rocks did hit her but she didn't budge. It really seemed the widow was struggling with something or was just very irritated about something, besides the fact they had interrupted a fight she had intended to fight alone. The other femme's final words however made Wintersong inwardly frown since that wasn't entirely true, least not for all of them,"Arahcnitron not everyone thinks that."She said, her tail tip twitching and trying to be cautious in what she said this time especially when she had already twice in a few days gone over the line with her words and being careless first with Arahcnitron's predacon personality and Optimus.

It made the tigeress wonder if she really was a trouble magnet or just really had a lot of bad luck. Even on Cybertron she had gotten into trouble and hadn't meant to or it was more trouble then she bargained for, this seemed the same case here and likely would for the rest of her function. 'Next thing I know it'll be the aliens that I get in major trouble with.' She thought which made her ears flatten even more against her 'skull'.

"Let's his it!" Cheetor shouted as soon as Rattrap decided on how to split the group. He jumped forward but then he immediately lurched to a halt.

"And um... maybe you want to ride on my back?" he asked Rattrap. "I think we'd go faster."

* * *

Steelclaw watched Venatrix carefully. He raised an eyebrow after he noticed the holograms appear. As soon as Megatron made the first attack in the simulation,
Steelclaw found himself even more surprised by how much Venatrix could interact with the holograms, and they with her.

Well, that made sense of what he'd seen earlier. He watched on silently until the entire simulation was done, having nothing so important to say that it would be worth interrupting her during her demonstration.

Venatrix wrote:Usually i take on only one of these. But this was the overkill version as i named it unofficially.

"I see," Steelclaw replied. He then turned in time to watch Sonar. His eyes grew wide at the massive directed column of fire that Sonar's bomb created. Then he regained a passive expression when Sonar flew backwards from the shockwave. And then hit Darksyde. And then passed out.

It had been an impressive explosion though. Sonar had done really well, even if he hadn't been prepared to face his own creation.

Venatrix wrote:I told you this might be entertaining. Even if it was just for a little while. I'd bet he broke his own speed limit right before *splat*

Just for one moment after Venatrix chuckled, Steelclaw smirked. The sound effect of her two paws coming together had somehow had been concise and effective at the same time.

"So," he moved on with the conversation with Venatrix, "how's your new weapon working out for you? Having any trouble with it?"

Before he had hardly given her time to respond, he noticed Onyx heading off in beast mode, and he decided to call out to him.

"Hey, Onyx," he shouted to his fellow Predacon, "you just don't like us anymore or what? Where are you going?"

(Cheetors probably a young teenager at best.)

Icebreaker muted his mic, he then glanced towards Arachnitron, noticing her leaking leg while she was throwing stones. He let out a low sigh I wouldn't know about the scrapheap, but lady you are a pain in the skidplate.If we didn't care about you, we wouldn't of bothered coming for you. I would of just took a potshot on Manterror and put you both in the slagheap. He then reached for the pack on his back and opened it. So, how about I fix that leaky leg? His optics observed her, her actions surprisingly reminded him of Starshadow, he only hoped she was slightly saner then the vampiric predacon.

Starshadow chuckled and cuddled Sonar, "Aww my boy's growing up!" she started scrubbing his head and ears. She would have to get herself a bath after soaking herself with cold water and soap foam, "Now let's have a nice chat. So...where were you and what were you doing before you were inside the ship you blew up months ago?"